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Govt to auction 17 mines surrendered by PSUs; coal production likely to hit record 900 MT in FY23
- In a conference, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said that Center is making sustained efforts to attract more private entrepreneurs into mineral exploration.
The government is planning to put 17 mines for auction. These mines were surrendered by public sector undertakings after they could not make these blocks operational. Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday stated that the 17 mines are very good blocks and hence he is putting them for auction now. In a conference, he said the Center is making sustained efforts to attract more private entrepreneurs into mineral exploration.
Addressing a 2-day international conference on “Indian Minerals & Metals Industry - Transition Towards 2030 & Vision 2047”, Joshi said, "mineral exploration will be carried out without adverse environmental impact through enhanced use of drones and other latest technologies."
While a PTI report revealed that Joshi said, "Just the-day-before yesterday (Sunday) I got 17 blocks back and they are very good blocks and I am putting them for auction now."
Joshi had talked to the chief ministers and ministers of a few states and asked them the reasons for sitting on mines. The minister added, "these mines could not get into operation even after 10 to 15 years."
Meanwhile, in the conference which was organised by NMDC and FICCI, Joshi said that through commercial coal mine auctioning ₹25,000 crore additional revenue has been generated last year and the State of Odisha stood first in revenue generation.
Also, the minister called upon the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to focus on new-age minerals exploration.
According to the minister, the coal production from captive mines is expected to touch 140 million tons this year compared to 89 million tons last fiscal.
He said that total coal production during this financial year is likely to record 900 million tons.
Further, to give a fillip to mineral exploration, a National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) has been made an autonomous body.
Joshi said that "compared to Australia our mineral exploration is restricted to a limited area." He added, that as a result of recent innovative initiatives and amendments in Acts and rules, 190 major mineral blocks have been auctioned during the last seven years.
Highlighting commercial coal mine auction as a big success, the minister urged the PSUs to start production from allotted coal blocks at the earliest, or else the same may be surrendered to the ministry for re-auctioning.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaGovt to auction 17 mines surrendered by PSUs; coal production likely to hit record 900 MT in FY23
First Published:23 Aug 2022, 04:31 PM IST
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